He got his start laying pipe for the Atlas Water and Sewer company. Eventually, he climbed the ranks, becoming responsible for a staff of 800 and annual revenue exceeding $120 million. His name is Victor Kipling. This is his weekly column. While the barrage of begging continues year 'round, it is never, ever worse than at Christmas time. Professional solicitors (aka Chariteers) well know, it's the time of year when sentimentality is at its height and common sense at its lowest. There appears to be no escape from the ongoing charity onslaught. Turn on the radio, especially during drive time, and you'll be sure to hear either laughing or crying children, and the charities they supposedly represent, wanting you to donate your car to them. Switch on the TV for some mindless, escapist stuff, and you're bound to see some very slickly produced pleas for the homeless, the addicted, the sick or the dying - especially those in some fly infested and far away place. Your mailbox is … [Read more...] about Say NO to Charity Collections at the Office
Career Lessons From Dancing With the Stars
Thank God, it's the last dance! The fifth season of Dancing With the Stars (DWTS) is finally over. I don't understand the success of much that's on TV, but this show is an absolute enigma to me.If at this point you're thinking, 'Andrew, if you hate the show so much, why the hell do you watch it?' Fair point. My only response is that it's difficult to avoid when you're wife is addicted to the show and you live in a one-bedroom apartment.Since I must purge my system of this dreadful show (at least until next season), please allow me to share with you several common themes I've noticed between Dancing With the Stars and working.The Fix Is InThe premise of the show is that non-dancers get teamed up with a professional to learn how to dance. We all know that most of the contestants have had some training and/or instruction on the past - but for some unfathomable reason - over 20 million people a week choose to look the other way. This season's runner up, Mel B. … [Read more...] about Career Lessons From Dancing With the Stars
Free Job Matchmaking With Jiibe
This is a guest blog post by job hunter Sally Lawton. Company: Jiibe.comSlogan: Company culturePros: Empowers the job seeker; Learn more about what YOU want in a job Cons: Limited sample size; Can't search geographically; Company write-ups a bit staleFinding the right job is a lot like finding the right partner. So what happens when you take a job classifieds site like Monster and smash it headfirst into a matchmaking site like eHarmony? Jiibe.com is born.Jiibe.com’s defining characteristic is a lengthy personality quiz that examines 18 'critical factors' of employment. By asking questions that compare your current company’s culture to your ideal company’s culture, Jiibe promises to scientifically match you to your next employer. By the end of the compatibility quiz, users will know which cultural characteristics are important to them, and which companies value the same characteristics. Once a 'match' is selected, users can then read more about … [Read more...] about Free Job Matchmaking With Jiibe
5 Signs It's Time to Quit Your Job
Tell me if this sounds familiar...It's 7pm on a Sunday night. You've just finished dinner and you are starting to settle down for the evening. Normally this would be a relaxing time. Maybe you take this time to reflect on the past week, or perhaps settle into your latest Netflix arrival. But this night is somehow different. You suddenly become filled with a certain something. You can't exactly but your finger on what it is. Unfortunately, there's a good chance that it's anxiety. Rather than relax you actually begin to get worked up, even annoyed. It comes in waves and is an overall malaise. This is a serious indicator that you could be experiencing the early warning signs that it's time to leave your job. At some point most of us will reach this crossroad. Maybe you're there now but just don't recognize it. With that in mind here are five surefire signs that it may be time to change your job. Change in Appearance This can include weight gain or loss, … [Read more...] about 5 Signs It's Time to Quit Your Job
Why You Must Talk to Your Manager or Boss
Throughout my career I've always been amazed at the lengths employees will go to to avoid talking to their supervisor or boss. The result: The person in power feels like an outcast - a situation that benefits no one. Especially you. I've been on both sides of the fence and trust me, it's time you start chatting up your boss. Here's why:Someone who likes you is more apt to help you... The best career advice is usually simple. That's why I'll never understand why 10 new employment books come out every hour. But I digress. Ask yourself a simple question: Would you rather help someone you like or someone you don't? If you want to get ahead in your career, you're going to need your boss's support at some level. Whether it's submitting the paperwork to HR or submitting a proposal to the clowns upstairs, being nice to your boss today will make your life easier tomorrow.Makes your motives crystal clear...Chapter Four of the Manager's … [Read more...] about Why You Must Talk to Your Manager or Boss
Retailers Screw Over Employees on Black Friday
An open letter to stores that feel they have to push the envelope this shopping season, specifically on Black Friday:Dear Kohls/JC Penney,Congratulations! You're one-upped your retail counterparts by opening a whole 60 minutes earlier. As if your employees weren't thankful enough for the crappy pay, lousy uniforms and non-stop Christmas music - now they have the pleasure of reporting for duty at 3am. I'm sure they'll have plenty of nice things to say about you over Thanksgiving dinner.Retail giants won't be happy until the PR nightmare hits. The headline will read something like this:Family of 3 Killed When Soccer Mom Careens Off Road Rushing to Save 10% on an Irregular Pair of Levi JeansHave you guys ever even been out at 4am? It's dark and lonely. A time reserved exclusively for silence and 9-1-1 calls.I get it. We're a capitalist nation and our economy relies on hardcore holiday shopping. Or at least that's what the media tells us. It's up … [Read more...] about Retailers Screw Over Employees on Black Friday
Thankful for the Greatest Boss I Ever Had
I often think about Dino. Whenever I hear Springsteen, Miles Davis, or think about the New Orleans Jazzfest (an event that Dino never missed), I think about what a great boss, great friend and great man Dino was. So the holidays are upon us, and what better way to celebrate Thanksgiving then to take a moment to tell you about someone I am truly thankful to have had in my life.My career started in radio. It was a small local station, and while it wasn't exactly what I wanted to be doing, I felt it put my foot in the door. I had dues to pay, so the sooner these positions got out of the way, the better.Rather than bore you with the details of the work I'll just let you know that it was the bottom rung. I worked overnights, weekends, and holidays. I learned little and moved on to the next rung. I'm not sure if it was a stepup or down.My second gig was also in radio. It was a children¹s station that wound up being sold to a Spanish broadcasting group - and I was included in the sale … [Read more...] about Thankful for the Greatest Boss I Ever Had
Find a Job With Podcasts
Jobacle is proud to present episode #74 of the Working Podcast. This week, the Web's #1 career advice podcast brings you: - An Interview with Chris Russell, founder of Jobs In Pods - a revolutionary way for employers to find great candidates and for great job seekers to find jobs. - We bring you the best career resources in the Career Filter, including: Yahoo Kickstart, Tractis, Emurse and Dice Discussions. - Are you committing conversation no-nos at the office? The weather, Fridays and the holidays should be banned... Learn about the Five Small Talk Sins. Plus, a song about work and more! There are three ways to listen: - Stream on our homepage (shows plays instantly) - Stream from the player below (about a 60 second load time) - Download direct … [Read more...] about Find a Job With Podcasts
Losing a Finger on the Job…Kinda
Recently, Andrew G.R. took a walk down memory lane with his blog: Working at K-Mart Taught Me How to Work. I thought it was nice to read about what my friend had learned at his first part-time job - and it got me thinking about my first jobs. I had several as a teenager, and while I’m sure I took something away from all those positions, my fondest memory- or at least the one that is the most interesting to tell- was the one that took something away from me… a fraction of my left index finger to be exact.It was a Thursday in November of 1993. I was 16 years old and worked maintenance (for lack of a better description) at the local bowling alley. The job consisted of a few main tasks; Oiling the lanes; sweeping the gutters and approach before league bowling started at 4pm; wiping down the tables and keeping them free of beer bottles, overflowing ashtrays, and plates of cold French fries, etc. For a short time, before the mechanic showed up, I was also in charge … [Read more...] about Losing a Finger on the Job…Kinda
Confessions of a Job Search Addict
My name is Eris S. and I was once a Job Search Addict. I would like to go on record right now and say that all things considered, I have a great job (knock on wood). My boss trusts me to do what he hired me to do, I have a great office/studio (one of the perks of being an audio engineer), and above all, I am doing what I set out to do. There was, however, a time when I was not so happy. Sure, I was still in the same industry, but I felt like I was working at a level that did not challenge me. I also had problems with the way my departments were run. Not to mention my bosses left little to be desired with regards to leadership. It was during these years - yes YEARS - that I found myself descending deeper and deeper into a world of serious addiction. I got hooked on job hunting. In the beginning, it seemed harmless. I was dabbling; just a couple times a week. But before I knew it, hunting began to take control of my life. First I was just seeing what else was out there. I … [Read more...] about Confessions of a Job Search Addict